Thursday, December 11, 2014

The Food Collective Christmas Feast 2014

Pictures by Steve Shanahan

First Published Canberra Times 3rd December, 2014.

With Christmas closing in and plans for the annual family
inundation afoot, the menu of the day requires some forward planning. As my job
requires a lot of stove time, my aim is to reduce food preparation input on the
day so I can spend it with family and friends. Our Christmas main meal will be
a late seafood lunch spiked with fresh, citrus flavours, with just a hint of
Tetsuya and Spirit House. And for fun, we will celebrate with some retro
flavour combinations of prawns, coconut and pineapple. Just to prove we are the
height of absolute sophistication, you won’t see a Golden Circle pineapple ring
within cooee.

The dressings in this meal give it a good kick along,
highlighting the seafood flavours that are a foil for the piquancy of the
pretty pickled salad. The bulk of the preparation is in the dressings and
salad, so be prepared to put the effort in the day before so you don’t spend Christmas
day stuck in the kitchen. Then on the day, grab another willing set of hands to
help you pull it together. The complete menu serves 4 to 6 people. It’s not en
exact science, so just increase the quantities of everything to feed greater
numbers.

Suppliers assured me that the listed foods would be in plentiful
supply over the holidays. The seafood was purchased from FishCo Fish Market at
Fyshwick and the Foie Gras from The Essential Ingredient in Kingston. The Yuzu and
shredded Nori can be purchased from most Asian grocers and the Seafood Salad
can be bought frozen from JJ’s Fysh at Fyshwick Markets. Keep any unused
portions of seafood salad, which is essentially seaweed, in the freezer and
this can be added to other meals, including soups, salads or with cold
meats.

Hint: To avoid mixing up the dressings, print the name of the
dressing on some masking tape and stick it to the lid of the jar or container.
This helps when it comes to putting the meal together.

Combine the vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a saucepan and
bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. When the sugar has dissolved, remove
from the heat and cool.

In a bowl, mix together the carrot, radish, cucumber, onion and
ginger. Pour over the cooled syrup, cover with glad wrap and allow to pickle
overnight. Keep refrigerated until ready to use. This will send off some
fermenting vegetable smells, this is normal.

To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a bowl or
jar and shake to combine. This can be left out of the refrigerator until ready
to use.

When ready to serve:

Drain the pickled vegetables from the liquid and discard. Allow
the vegetables to drain in a colander until there is little liquid remaining.
Transfer to a bowl along with the bean sprouts, kaffir lime leaves, coriander
and mint. Pour over the dressing and mix to combine, transfer to a serving
plate and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Scallops with
Strawberries and Yuzu Juice

12 scallops, without roe or shells

1/4 punnet of ripe strawberries, finely chopped

handful of chives cut into 4 cm lengths

handful of tarragon, chopped

Dressing

5 large strawberries, crushed with a potato masher

2 tbsp yuzu juice, or lemon juice

½ tsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

On the day before:

Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small jar and
refrigerate until you are ready to dress the scallops.

When ready to serve:

Bring a small saucepan of water to a rolling boil. Plunge the
scallops into the boiling water, leave to cook for fifteen seconds, then
remove. The flesh should be only just turning white. Slice the scallops in half
and lay overlapping on a platter. Drizzle the vinaigrette and scatter the
chopped strawberries, tarragon and chives over the arranged scallops. The acid
in the lemon will further “cook” the scallops.

Crispy Prawns with
Garlic and Pineapple Salsa

700g of large green prawns, peeled and deveined

5 tbsp rice flour

3 cups of vegetable oil for deep frying

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

handful of coriander, chopped

lime wedges

Pineapple Salsa

½ a fresh pineapple, peeled, quartered and core removed

3 fresh chillis, sliced finely

1 tablespoon of dessicated coconut

handful of both fresh mint and coriander, chopped finely

salt and pepper to taste

On the day before:

For the pineapple salsa, chop the pineapple finely and combine
with the remainder of the salsa ingredients. Leave in refrigerator to marinate
until required.

When ready to serve:

Toss the prawns with the rice flour. Heat the oil in a wok or
large saucepan till very hot. Fry the garlic until browned and remove with a
slotted spoon to drain on paper towel. Fry the prawns in batches until golden
and crispy, this should only take a minute or so. Drain on paper towel and
transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with the coriander and garlic. Serve with
the lime wedges.

Roasted Balmain Bugs
with Smoky Tea

10 Balmain Bugs, cooked

1 tsp of Lapsang Souchong black tea

1 cup of defrosted seafood salad.

1 leek, julienned

1 cup of vegetable oil

Shredded nori

Dressing

1 tbsp macadamia oil (or other flavoured nut oil)

½ tsp sherry vinegar

Preheat the oven to 260C.

The day before:

Combine the sherry vinegar and macadamia oil in a small jar and
leave to infuse.

For the leeks, heat the oil till very hot and fry the leek in
batches until browned and crispy. Remove and drain on paper towel. Keep in an
airtight container until ready to use.

When ready to serve:

Chop the heads off the bugs and cut them in half, lengthwise
with a chopper or a pair of strong kitchen shears. Remove the heads and
discard. Season the bugs with salt and pepper to taste. Grind the tea to a
powder in a mortar and pestle and sprinkle on the flesh side of the bugs.

Place the bugs, still in half shells, on an oven tray and place
in the oven for about three minutes till just feeling warm on the outside.

To serve, place the seafood salad on a serving platter. Place
the bug halves on top and pile up in the centre.

Drizzle with the dressing and arrange the leeks and shredded nori
on the top.

Duck Foie Gras with
Black Rice and Avocado

4 to 6 duck foie gras, approximately 30g each

1 tbsp mirin

1 cup cooked black or red rice

¼ avocado, finely diced

Avocado Puree

½ avocado, peeled

100ml milk

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp finely chopped chives

Dressing

1 tsp honey

50ml soy sauce

1 tsp lemon juice

Garnish

2 tbsp toasted and crushed sesame seeds

small bunch of chives, cut into 4 cm lengths

On the day before:

To make the avocado puree, blend all the ingredients until
pureed in a food processor or blender. Store in a jar in the refrigerator until
ready to use.

To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a small jar
and shake. Store out of the refrigerator until ready to use.

Toast the sesame seeds in a small frypan until golden. Crush the
roasted seeds in a mortar and pestle until fine and crumbly. Store in an
airtight container until ready to use.

In a small bowl, mix the pre-made rice with the mirin and cover
with glad wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

When ready to serve

Place four (or six) spoonfuls of rice separately piled on a
large serving platter. Place a spoonful of chopped avocado on top of each spoon
of rice. Spoon a little avocado puree over the top of each. Then top with a
round of foie gras. Spoon a teaspoon or two of dressing over the foie gras and top
with a good sprinkle of crushed sesame seeds and chives.

jamming it up in Beaune

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Owned and managed 2 restaurants and still have a huge passion for all things food. I submit a weekly food column for the Canberra Times newspaper and own a very large collection of cookbooks and recipes but source recipes from wherever I can. InterestsFood, food and more food, Steve my beloved and Louis the Spoodle, books, movies. I'm also very fond of my kitchenaid mixer - reconditioned commercial model. European travel and sourcing great food and recipes. Favorite Books. Love all Cookbooks, Subscribe to a number of cooking mags. Julia Childs as both an author and cook.